Learn About Colored Diamonds - Sell Diamonds and More

When most of us think of diamonds we think of transparent stones. In fact, more than 300 shades of colored diamonds have been identified in nature. All the colors of the rainbow are represented from blue, red and green, as well as others such as pink, brown and yellow. The amount of color a diamond has depends on what happens to it as it is being formed. During this time, known as crystallization, diamonds can take on other atoms. This can cause the stone to not reflect all the light it receives. Whatever wavelengths of light aren’t reflected, are absorbed. This impacts the color of the gem. There are two types of colored diamonds.

Type 1 have taken on some nitrogen during crystallization and as a result will have anywhere from a pale yellow tint (Type Ia) to deep yellow, brown, orange or greenish (Type Ib). Ninety eight percent of all diamonds will fall into the Type Ia category of pale yellow. Type 2 diamonds have none or very few nitrogen atoms. This gives them a color range of yellow, brown, pink or red (Type IIa) to blue or gray (Type IIb). Most rare are green diamonds, which are created as a result of nuclear rays showering the diamonds during their growth. Regardless of what hue your colored diamond takes it will be excluded from the D to Z color classification of a colorless or “white” diamond. Because natural color diamonds are so diverse and rare, there is a special way of evaluating them. First the color of the stone is identified. If the color is identified with two terms, such as brownish-yellow, the second is considered the main color. Next the intensity is determined by judging how light or dark the color is.
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